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bibliobrandie's review against another edition
3.0
This gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty retelling is all romance, adventure, and magic. The plot is complex if not confusing at times. The characters are fun. The romance goes no further than some kissing sadly and the story ends on a cliffhanger. It's a fine fantasy but didn't wow me as I had hoped (I expected more based on the awesome cover!).
sapphoslibrarycard's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
inugome5's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
astifel21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“She parted the curtain of spiderwebs stretched across the mouth of the hallway and then stopped to brush a huge spider off her shoulder. Shane’s guts clenched and she had to remind herself that using her ax on spiders would be overkill - that’s what boot heels were for.”
I loved this sleeping beauty retelling that flips the script. Instead of a prince kissing a helpless princess it’s a female treasure hunter waking a powerful witch prince. I love that these characters have stories and pasts; friends and foes. The duo of Fi and Shane make me think of a female cast of Indiana Jones solving decades old riddles and finding artifacts. I picked this up after Christmas and devoured it in a week. There are two more books in this series and I can’t wait to read them. Definitely recommend this fantasy retelling.
“Maybe falling in love wasn’t something you dreamed about or something you left to destiny. Maybe it was something that happened when you were having too much fun to notice.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm
abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
📖
I think this was my favorite fairytale re-telling/re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty I've read. I loved the gender swap with Briar Rose being the prince cursed into slumber and Fi being the one destined to save him.
I adored the relationship between Fi and Shane, evolving from reluctant partners/allies into friends. I liked how the relationship between Fi and Briar developed and the way they saw each others.
I liked the writing style, and I liked that the POV switched between Fi and Shane for most of the book with some Briar. The plot was a little predictable with a few twists, and it kept me entertained.
I think this was my favorite fairytale re-telling/re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty I've read. I loved the gender swap with Briar Rose being the prince cursed into slumber and Fi being the one destined to save him.
I adored the relationship between Fi and Shane, evolving from reluctant partners/allies into friends. I liked how the relationship between Fi and Briar developed and the way they saw each others.
I liked the writing style, and I liked that the POV switched between Fi and Shane for most of the book with some Briar. The plot was a little predictable with a few twists, and it kept me entertained.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Death of parent
abigail_reads06's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
witcheep's review against another edition
The parts that got my attention in the blurb and at the veginning of the book — magic, curses, and a hint of a romance — are constantly on the background and only surface briefly to be elaborated a little at a time. All the other drama in the book does not manage to hold my interest.
leahbelle's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
magikspells's review
3.0
I was a little annoyed by the tone of this book at first, but I eventually got over that. There is a lot going on, multiple characters trying to escape their own issues and pasts, curses, adventures, and witch hunters. This book struggles with the issues a lot of YA books have, a main character (or 2) who are teenagers but inexplicably have so much life experience and have traveled/worked alone. Pretty hard to believe in some aspects, but I'll let it go. I'll definitely read the next one.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
If you're still following my reviews, you have noticed by now that I read a lot of fairytale retellings. And a lot might even be an understatement. Sleeping Beauty used to be one of my favorite Disney films growing up because it has such a spectacular finale and an awesome villain. But retelling that story isn't easy. I'm therefore always very curious how the author has done it when I find a Sleeping Beauty retelling.
After reading some negative reviews I was going into this book without many expectations, but I was actually very positively surprised and I really enjoyed the story. Despite the huge amount of action scenes, fighting monsters and people and running for their life the author made enough time for the characters to connect and grow and fall in love. The balance between the action scenes and the emotional scenes felt absolutely perfect for me.
And because there was room for those emotional scenes I also started caring more and more about these characters. Of course we know that they're gonna succeed in the end, but I love how clever the characters have to be along the way and how they need each other's support and strength. It was therefore also easy to root for them, although there is a part of me that really wants to learn more about the villain of the story and the reason for doing this.
I'm convinced that when it comes to the villain we will see more of her in the next book in the series. Although the book has a satisfying ending, it's also a new beginning, the beginning of another adventure and maybe the true fight. I'm really excited to learn more about magic, history and how intertwined they are. And I also still hope that one way or another Shane and Red might find a way to be together.
Luckily I have the second book on pre-order already!
After reading some negative reviews I was going into this book without many expectations, but I was actually very positively surprised and I really enjoyed the story. Despite the huge amount of action scenes, fighting monsters and people and running for their life the author made enough time for the characters to connect and grow and fall in love. The balance between the action scenes and the emotional scenes felt absolutely perfect for me.
And because there was room for those emotional scenes I also started caring more and more about these characters. Of course we know that they're gonna succeed in the end, but I love how clever the characters have to be along the way and how they need each other's support and strength. It was therefore also easy to root for them, although there is a part of me that really wants to learn more about the villain of the story and the reason for doing this.
I'm convinced that when it comes to the villain we will see more of her in the next book in the series. Although the book has a satisfying ending, it's also a new beginning, the beginning of another adventure and maybe the true fight. I'm really excited to learn more about magic, history and how intertwined they are. And I also still hope that one way or another Shane and Red might find a way to be together.
Luckily I have the second book on pre-order already!